impotence

noun

im·po·tence | \ ˈim-pə-tən(t)s

Definition of impotence

: the quality or state of being impotent: such as

a : lack of power, strength, or vigor : weakness … the growing impotence of governments in the face of corporate willfulness and regional factionalism.— Alan Wexelblat

b : an abnormal physical or psychological state of a male characterized by inability to engage in sexual intercourse because of failure to have or maintain an erection : erectile dysfunction

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Examples of impotence in a Sentence

the congressional committee's essential impotence in affecting the management of the war was frustrating to its members

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, any form of moderate exercise can help guys lower their risk of impotence. — Amanda Hawkins, Good Housekeeping, "6 Reasons Gardening Is Good for You," 8 May 2014 And surgery comes with its own serious risks, such as developing incontinence or impotence, while radiation can result in urinary problems. — Peter Loftus, WSJ, "Surgery Adds Three Years to Lives of Prostate-Cancer Patients, Study Finds," 12 Dec. 2018 Male-impotence pill Viagra began facing generic competition late last year, while the Lyrica pain treatment is expected to confront generics at the end of this year. — Jonathan D. Rockoff, WSJ, "Pfizer Narrows Guidance on Tougher Pricing, Generic Competition," 30 Oct. 2018 Arkham Horror Third Edition is a classic struggle of agency versus impotence, set in the uncanny world of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos. — Charlie Theel, Ars Technica, "Arkham Horror Third Edition: The classic Lovecraft adventure returns," 24 Nov. 2018 There’s obviously a lot of anger and frustration here toward the US government at the moment—along with side effects like bottled rage and sometimes a creeping sense of ineptitude or impotence about our ability to do anything about it. — Corey Seymour, Vogue, "Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova On Her New Guide To Activism, Raising The Next President Of Russia, And Her "Holy War" On Fairy Tales," 12 Oct. 2018 In exchange for political impotence, they would be mostly left alone and allowed to get rich. — Paul Mozur, New York Times, "Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras," 8 July 2018 Their suspicion is compounded by rumors that the polio vaccine causes impotence, death and, ironically, paralysis. — Meher Ahmad, New York Times, "Pakistan Has Just One New Polio Case, but Isn’t Declaring Victory Yet," 20 May 2018 Fighting back, even as an exercise in impotence, did a lot for McCain. — Alex Horton, Washington Post, "John McCain rebelled at the Naval Academy — and as a POW — long before he was a Senate maverick," 3 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impotence.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

19 Apr 2019

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Time Traveler for impotence

The first known use of impotence was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for impotence

impotence

noun

im·po·tence | \ ˈim-pə-təns

Kids Definition of impotence

: the quality or state of lacking power or strength

impotence

noun

im·po·tence | \ ˈim-pət-ən(t)s

Medical Definition of impotence

1 : the quality or state of not being potent drug-resistant bacteria are a virulent indicator of the growing impotence of antibiotics

2 : an abnormal physical or psychological state of a male characterized by inability to engage in sexual intercourse because of failure to have or maintain an erection

— called also erectile dysfunction